1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, broadly, to apparatus and methods for deforming a workpiece and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods for continuously extruding a rod of indefinite length to produce a wire of indefinite length.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Representative prior art showing the more-or-less continuous deformation of a workpiece in the form of a rod appears in the following patents and certificate: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,642,280 (1953) to Fisk; U.S. Pat. No. 2,696,907 (1954) to Fisk; U.S. Pat. No. 2,736,425 (1956) to Fisk; U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,676 (1963) to Harkentider; U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,088 (1968) to Alexander et al,; U.S. Pat. No. 3,417,589 (1968) to Bobrowsky; U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,983 (1969) to Lees et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,434,320 (1969) to Green; U.S. Pat. No. 3,440,849 (1969) to Hardy et al,; U.S. Pat. No. 3,449,935 (1969) to McAllan; U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,115 (1970) to Armstrong et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,216 (1973) to Green; and U.S.S.R. Author's Certificate No. 176,229 (1966) to Shvarzburd.
In my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,667,267 (1972); 3,731,509 (1973); 3,738,138 (1973); and 3,738,145 (1973); the first-mentioned of which was reissued as Re. 28,373 (1975), there is shown apparatus and method for the continuous steady extrusion of rod of indefinite length, employing the viscous drag force of viscous fluid circuits, portions of which flow along the surface of the rod to build up stresses in the rod and advance the rod through an extrusion die.
In another of my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,696,652 (1972), there is shown apparatus and method for the continuous steady extrusion of rod of indefinite length, wherein a first clamp engageable with the surface of the rod and a deforming agency receiving and deforming the rod are moveable relative to each other and relative to a stationary second clamp engageable with the surface of the rod so as to maintain a desired relative velocity between the rod and the deforming agency.
In yet another of my prior U.S. Pat., No. 3,740,985 (1973), which was reissued as U.S. Pat. No. RE 28,795 on May 4, 1976 , there is shown apparatus and method for the continuous steady extrusion of rod of indefinite length through a deforming agency, wherein several trains of gripping elements engage the surface of the rod and advance the rod through the deforming agency while building up stress in the rod from a station upstream of the deforming agency to the deforming agency. The apparatus and method disclosed herein represent a further significant advance in the art of extrusion.
The present invention is, in general, an improvement over the apparatus and method disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,985 (U.S. Pat. No. RE 28,795).